Torch structure



March 18, 1930. c. F. LAMBERT 1,750,846

TORCH STRUCTURE Filed Dec 19, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

ATTORNEY.

March 18, 1930. c. F. LAMBERT TORCH STRUCTURE Filed Dec. 19, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheec 2 7 .Q O ll/lldFflrlarrflif II lb I- p 1 RA III w VI/I all! Filed Dec. 19, 192"? 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 A TTORNE Y.

March 18, 1930. c, F. LAMBERT TORCH STRUCTURE Filed Dec. 19, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 A TTORNE Y.

March 18, 1 930. c. F. LAMBERT TORCH STRUCTURE Filed Dec. 19, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. 5%Q7 /5 Tlamfiaf A TTORNE Y.

Patented Mar. 18, 1930 UNITED- srrss;

PATENT OFFICE oHAnLEs rQLAMBER'r, 0F. enossri POINTE, vrrcnrerAN, ssIeNoR, BY MEsNE'AssIGN; MENTS, TO CLAYTON & LAMBERT. MANUFACTURING COMPANY, or DETROIT, MICHL,

GANRA CORPORATION or DELAWARE TORCH srnnoruan Application filed December 19, 1927. Serial No. 240,961.

- This invention relates to torch. structure and has to do particularly with that type of torch known as a hand blow torch and comprising a container, pressure creating means and a generator and burner structure supported by the container.

Heretofore torch structures of the hand .blow torch type have been of somewhat standard structure as to general features and principlesof operation, such torches being usually provided witha fuel container tank comprising a base and provided with a suitable handle, a suitable pump for creating pressure within the tank,'and a fuel conducting conduit for 'conducting the fuel under pressure towards the generating and burner structure. In creating the torch blast and in generating'and maintaining vaporization it has been customary to eject the vaporized, but unmixed fuel, directly from a valve con trolled jet block into the burner nozzle where the vaporized fuel mixes witlrthe air to form a combustible mixture, the point of combustion taking place at such a point. as to heat a portion of the fuel conducting means whereby to tend to vaporize the same. Some torches of this type, although being very hard to initially start, have been very satisfactory during the first fifty to seventy hours of operation as long as'the control valve is open to produce a relativelyjlarge blast of flame. However, it has been practically impossible in' torches of this type to graduate and control the flame, thus making it necessary to eitherprovide a large blast of flame or none at all. Furthermore, torches of this type resenta reat roblem as to carbonization i It is the object of the present'invention to and most practical'torch structures are provided with' various unique arrangements to permit cleaning of the variousparts made necessary by the formation of carbon.

provide a novel torch structurewherein the generation of the-fuel is efficiently and accu rately controlledin such a manner as to produce. any-flame desired from an; intense blast down to substantiallya pilot flame, the generation being so controlled as to substantially prevent any carbonization of the fuel in any the, vaporized fuel is projected forwardly of the generator, mixed to forma combustible mlxture, then directed rearwardly and then fokrwardly again where it islignited toform a'last.

Anotherfeature of the present invention relates to the provision of a novel generating tube in combination with the burner structure whereln the fuel in a' limited: part of: the

generator tube is heated by a portion of the mixed fuel vapor afterv the fuelvapor has been directed rearwardly .of theburner structure, the generator tubebeingof such structure. and so arranged as to 'maintain. vaporization even when thetorch flame is reduced to practically a pilotflame;

' Another feature of this invention has to do with novel starting structure whereinthe starting of the torch structure is accelerated by directing the initially vaporized fuel issuing from the generator tube back against the generator in the form of a blast. 1

Still another feature relates to the compact design and arrangement of generator and torch-structure and the positioning'ofyithe same relative to the fuel structure whereby to presenta balanced torch structure as a unit. .Other novel features will be brought out in the specificationand claims; 7 In the drawings: 2 e

Fig. 1=isa front elevation of a torch'strucv I.

structure of the torch shown in Fig. 1 and illustrating in particular the preferred form of the generator tube, the startingdevice, and the manner of changing. the. path of movement of the generated'and mixed fuel. .19"-

- Fig.'3 is a horizontal cross sectional VlBW taken through the structure'shown in -Fig, 2

and illustrating the spacing of the mixing Fig. 5 isa viewlsimilar to Fig.2 but illus trating a modified form of starterstructure. 6 is'a horlzontalcross sectlon taken along the center of jtlie generator tube, of

the structure shown inFig. 5.

' F 7is a cross sectional vi'ew'taken on 7 heat the generator itu'be'. J

- :Fi gfw illustrates a Fig. Sillus'trates a turthe'r modi fied torm 7 of my lin-vention andshowing in particular the-manner of .directing the main portion of the fuel forwardly and deflecting a: portion of the vaporized mixed fuel irearwardly ito.

' Fig. 9 is a planv ew sectioniof :the struoe' tureshowniinpliligfi. V V I further modified form otmy invention simi lartoithe structure shown in Figs; 2 and 5 but so arranged whereby-the bvious tha l'g eate ar a and a relatireb:

" vaporized" portion, of the generator .tu-beis it E[heprese nt invention is 7 structures where the main result desired .is a; a r confined blast of flame and whereinzthe entire sturdy, and well balancedmanner; The base heated directly by .the fiame'fissuing from the? main 4 burner nozzle.

structure is preferably formedxin a compaet,

" of,the structure may'yary considerably, and

i that theqinvention ingeneral relates broadly;

1 tea novel head or burner structure for a; blow torch of thetype-deseribed;

in thevarious-drawings Ihave shown various modificationshoif; generator starter-band burner structure, but-"it will be understood 'As ibest illustrated in '1, the fuel "tank, which isgenerally designated 1, 1311513 be or the standard-type and is provided witha-suit- V V able -base2,rhandle structureB, and'pump semblyjlf The; generator and burner strucv ture is generallyimade up of agenerator tube 5, a burner head ,6, inanifoldfi andbnr-iier outlet :8, These parts',=idue .to'vtheir. novel de- "sign and, arrangement-present a relatively. long burner structure, andvf or this reason'I f; have s rofvided a "fuel supporting conduit 9 55,

which extends upwardly,atran'jangle from-the torch. tank 1" whereby to iba lancelthe complete bnrnerfstructur-e with respeet-i-to; the .tank

T whichfl forms the base ofthe torch; iiTlli presents a verycompactIorch structure las a unit, and 1 at the same; time such term strue ture is :wellbalanoed so that the" weight is centrally positioned with're'spect tothe basei AS best shoiwn 'iniFig. 2, the fuelioo'nduitil) terminatesin a burner head 6 and this burner head 6 is :provid'edwith a, Suitable ,va-Lve seat wire is positionedrairoend th ifi s iooi ed but onlyieXtendSfthe length; 0

directed to torch- 10 and taperedvalve member, '11 whereby the control of the fuel to the generator and burne'r is at a pointremote from theburner structure; or, in other words,-the liquid fuel is shut o fli or controlledat apoint where it is still rawliquidlfuel. 1

, flfhegenerator tube 5 is adaipted to fit into I I the head 6, one end of the generator tube be} ingreducedin diameter "and the-other end-(ifs "the generator *tubebei n'g enlarged, as -at-12.

The end of the generator tube is provided r withta'istanclard jet block '13 and the burner valve is provided with a suitable stem 1e which extends the. length of the generator tube and terminates in a suitable cleaner needle which is adapted to project throug 1,

is iseat'edpagainst the Val vejseikt ,l0.; able .coiledwire extends the length ozffihe generatortubegandisg poitiioned immedifitelyf around the :valve stem 14;, a' seconcl'e '-l d part 120ithegenerstorltrbe is enlarged partb t e. gene at r tuberis adapt d to be he. enl rged i l positioneclacljacenf the heat ng-swa s, a

Will b later described-s enlargi g the generator t be. 2 Lem 5h? hin at iqu d fuel is in tia y :pr sented (I o the front of nda ia'cen t ewsnrta of the genera o t o initially st rt eg, a 7 during the op a ion "Q tll ldevice itwi ii a ther be obvious that raw iliqllitl 161 Will lfbe. ed t roughthe-smaller'part lqnzg-i-he he l pa sageway, nd t t his i-rawil quid will. expand as it, c me t the pt s part f the gene te tube, w ich v'is'; -the.-. enlarged part, a r

aving sp urality o elical passag wayst v1 1 ew i ueL; and hy-lp'r viding for the sure is eliminated-and .Qthe burner ispreventecl from running ,colol. 1,'lhisi-n$11,res.tliat all thefiuel iss lhi j sm ll Pa t and rg nar b t b re so esign d as to p ev t cumulation. of f' naturalez pansion of the fuel ellbackpr s h i t lecls wil heefli I oiently .-v aporizedl, Furthermore, when,t-he v ve i 'turn ofito closedown thestorch the o i-ng- ,Qfi {point is remq immth generat r t e-m t :Where the; liquid fuel'is. raw and relatively "cold," and by reason ,of the end' Oftjhegenerat r tube being largeand being 7: V

"l g iid het r w ofcoiled wires formin a pillaryl pass geway, .211 th lieuidjf el wi 'b gdraw out fr m he gene ator it and" be vaporized uponf pass ng through the enlargedi'part' 'of the generator whereby to? subs'tanti'allyyprevent carbonizatio 1v infthe generating tube, V

" "The-end ofth' e l e ubef d"i e ele may be positioned-in a s'u itablyaperturefl ex tension 15 which Inay,'-as;-shown' in"; Figs; s

generator.

of, as at 20, may be perforated or provided,

with a suitable burner opening whereby to direct a portion of the gases, passing through the manifold, against the enlarged portion of the generator tube in the form of flames; This manifold and burner housing may be secured to the burner head 6, as at 21, but it will also be obvious that such manifold and 2 burner may be formed in separate partsand secured to the burner head in any suitable manner.

A primin'gcup 25 is pivot'ally mounted be: neath the generator tube, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 4, and the forward part of such priming cup is preferably provided with an upturned portion 26' which serves as ablast deflector to deflect the vaporized fuel initially issuing fromthejet block back against the generator in the form of a blast of flame to accelerate the heating and starting of the This combined blast'deflector and priming cup may also be usedfor initially filling the priming cup with liquid fuel, as by opening the valve 11. When thetorch is cold liquid fuel will flow through the generator out through the jet'block and be cleflected down into the priming cup by the deflector 26. The combined deflector and priming cup may be suitably held in position by a pivoted member 27, or by any other suitable means, and when the generator is hot enough to maintain continued vaporizationthe priming 'cup and deflector may be dropped down into position by moving the member 27 to one side wherein the vaporized fuel will pass from the jet block into the mixing chamber 16 of the manifold 7. This manifold, which is shown integral in Figs. 2, 3 and 1, is preferably'so shaped as to completely bend the vaporized fuel 1809 and direct the same rearwardly, as best shown in Fig. 3. This rearwardly directed portion 17 of the manifold then extends upwardly near the rear end of the generator tube, and then-preferably at burner member 28 the portion of the manifold- 18 terminatesin the burner nozzle 19 which forms the ejecting or exit nozzle for the torch blast.

In operation, the liquid fuel, in the tank 1 having been placed under pressure by means of the pump 1, the valve may be opened to admit the raw fuel under pressure into the generator tube where-it will feed in a hellcal path towards the jet block from whereit will= be projected against -the baffle member 26. When sufficient fuel has been deflected intothe priming cup (which in thecase-of gasoline need be only a very small amount), the valve 11 is closed and the fuel is ignited. Due'to the large surface area of the enlarged part of the tube and the relatively thin film of liquid fuel in this large area, the fuel in the enlarged part of the tube is quickly heated and is projected in the form of a vapor out through the jet block against the deflector 26 and backwardly over the top of the fuel in the priming cupand against the generator. As thisfuel vapor comes in contactwith the open flames fromthe liquid fuel it will be ignited and be projected against the tube in the form of'a blast of flame. This rearwardly: directed; blast will also pick up fuel from the priming 7 cup and thus accelerate the burning of the fuel in the priming cup. Th'is'strongblastwill quickly heat the enlarged part of the generator tube and in a very shorttime the priming cup maybe dropped to allow the vaporized fuel to be projected into the mixing chamber 16. a

If desired, and particularly when kerosene is being'used, the valvemay be slightly opened after the starter has been in oper ation for a short time, andthis will greatly.

increase the blast which is directed rearwardly against the generator tube. This will create a very intense blast and heatthe enlarged' part of the tube to a point where the SDI vaporized. After the priming cup isdrop'ped the fuel vapor will be projected through the mixing chamber 16, directed rearwardly by the manifold 17 and then upwardly andfor-' wardly by the manifold 18. 'A small'portion of the fuel vapors will pass through the burner- 20 and be projected against the en larged portion ofthe generator tube. These fuel vapors may be ignited artificially,'or preferably automatically by any flame which might be rising from the priming cup; The mainportion of the fuel vapors will pass through the burner 28 and will be ignited in the burner nozzle 19. The burner 28 will prevent the flames from traveling backward. It-

will be obvious that the valve ll may be opened to 5 any extent desired to produce an intense blast, or may be throttled down whereby. the flame issuing from'the nozzle 19 may be reduced to a pilot flame. During operation of the torch, as the liquid passes the valve 11, it will enter the smaller part of the generator tube, which is remote from the auxiliary flame and the main blast, and

will be conveyed in a spiral path towards the large part of the tube. As the raw liquid fuel approaches the enlarged part'of the which is extremely easy to operate and may be turned down to practically a pilot flame,

generator tube and burner head.

This not only presents a compact hand torch but it will be obvious that such structure substantially prevents all carbonization in the Furthermore, it will be obvious that I have provided a very compact and eliicient torch which is so positioned relative to the container tank as to present a well balanced unit.

What I claim is:v

1. The method of starting, generating and conducting liquid fuel in torch structures of the type having generating tubes, which comprises passing liquid fuel through a generator tube, entrapping and heating a portion of the same while in the tube to expel the generated fuel therefrom, deflecting fuel vapors initially issuing from the tube backwardly against the tube to-accelerate starting of the same,and then directly conducting the fuel Q vapor issuing from the generator tube back- Wardly and directing only a small portion against the generator in the'form of flames for maintaining vaporization.

2. The'method of starting, generating and conducting liquid fuel in torch structuresof the type having generating tubes, which com prises entrapping a quiescent mass of liquid fuel in the tube, heating the same, and then initially accelerating generation of the fuel tion of movement of the vaporized fuel beprises entrapping liquid fuel in'the tube, cutin the tube by defieotingthe fuel vapor initially issuing therefrom backwardly against the same in the form of a blast of flame, and

then twice completely reversing the direcfore issuing the same in the form of a torch blast. f

3. The method ofstarting, generating and the type having generating tubes, which comting off the source of supply, a heating the trapped liquid to expel-same as vapor, initially accelerating generation of the fuel in the tube by deflecting the fuel vapor initially issuing therefrom backwardly against the same in the form of a blast of flame, opening up the source of supply and then twice com pletely reversingthe direction of movement of the vaporized fuel before issuing'the same in the form of a torch blast, a portion of said reversed fuel vapor being directed against the generator to maintain vaporization of the fuel therein.

4. Torch structure, comprising a tank, a fuel conduit carried thereby and in turn supporting a burner "head, a single generating means connected at the end to said head, a burner nozzle, a manifold spaced from the other end of the generating means for conducting vaporized fuel to thenozzle, and means in said burner head for controlling the supply of liquid fuel fromv said conduit, 7 through said head, to saidigenerating means.

5.- Tomb structure, comprising a tank, a

" fuel conducting conduit carried thereby, and vgenerating and burner structure carried by the fuel tank, said generating means comprising a tube having a portion of its length of, relatively small diameter, and a portion of relatively largediameter, means within the tube for feeding the liquid fuel thereth'rough by capillary action, and means fordeflecting a portion of the vaporized'fu-el' from its normal path and for directing flames in heat conducting relation witht-he portion of the generator tube of relatively large diameter whereby to maintain vaporization. of the liquid fuel.

6.'Torch structure, comprising a tank for receiving and placing liquid fuelunder pressure, jasupply conduit, a burner nozzle,-a generating tube positioned between the tank and the burner nozzle and: connected at its burner nozzle, the inlet end of said manifold being in axial alignment with the generating tube and terminating in a mixing chamber spaced from the-end of the generating tube. v

7. Torch structure of the type having a container tank for receiving liquid fuel and placing the same under pressure, comprising in combination .a: generator tube having a shut-off valve at its inlet end,'and means for feeding by capillary action the liquid fuel therethrough, and a et block at the other end,

a manifold spaced from the jet block for conducting the generated fuel forwardly, rearwardly, and then again forwardly of the .torch, and a blast deflector adapted to be positioned'in front of the jet block for'initially deflecting fuel vapors issuing from the- ,generator back against the same to accelerate starting thereof.

a 8. Torch structure of container tank for receiving liquid fuel and placing the same under pressure, comprising in'combination a generator tube having a shut-off valve at its inlet end, and means for feeding by capillary action the liquid fuel therethrough, and a normally unrestricted jet block at the otherend, a manifold for conducting the generated fuel forwardly, rearwardly, and then again forwardly of the torch, and a blast deflector adapted to be positioned in front of the jet block for initially deflecting fuel vapors issuing from the generator back against the same to accelerate v the type having a i starting thereof, said blast deflector being I v pivotally mounted to permit'the fuel vapors to pass through the manifold. V I w;

- 9. Torch structure of the type having a container tank for receivingliquid fueland placing the'same under pressure, comprising in combination a generator tube having a shut-off valve at one end, and means for feeding by capillaryiaction the liquid fuel 

